Page 11 of Spirit Walker Pack (Kingdom of Wolves #5)
LYLE
Getting a message from one of the Border Guards advising me that Alpha Falan has arrived with a small escort of warriors, I’m surprised to say the least. I wasn’t expecting a visit and didn’t expect to see him until we met at the Alpha meeting.
I give permission for them to enter and instruct a single guard to accompany them to the packhouse.
While waiting for them to arrive, I go over everything with my Beta and Chief Warrior.
I was going to have Beta Earl go with me to the meeting, but if Arric gets word that all the Alphas and our Council are going to be in one place at the same time, he could decide to act in a variety of different ways.
I’m not prepared to leave the pack without my number two at the helm, so to speak.
As for Chief Warrior Glen, he can accompany me on this occasion. Warrior Sloane will take Glen’s place while he’s away and I don’t doubt that she will serve Earl every bit as well as Glen serves me.
Grabbing a late breakfast with Chief Glen in the dining hall, I see Flick and Blossom with their heads together in the kitchen.
They keep looking this way, but I get the feeling that their interest is more toward him than me.
Chief Glen, however, seems to be totally oblivious to their presence.
He would make someone a first-class mate.
He is loyal, devoted, and his attention to detail would mean he would be aware of their needs and moods at every turn.
I wonder if it is either of them that is interested, or are they matchmaking for someone else?
“Ever wondered about taking a mate, Chief Glen?” I ask out of the blue.
“Alpha Lyle, can you keep a secret if I choose to answer that question?”
Oh, my! What can of worms have I opened now, I wonder? “Of course, and don’t feel obligated to answer, if you so choose.”
“Females scare the hell out of me. I have never had any type of relationship with a female. My mother died when I was a pup and my father brought me and my brother up. My father was an excellent role model and should have taken another mate, but was loyal to my mother to his death. I’ve never had to interact with a female other than giving them orders as warriors or in training.
I wouldn’t know what to say or do with one if she threw herself at me. ” He looks at me, shaking his head.
“With the right mate, if she threw herself at you, I think she would soon have you knowing what was what in a relationship. A bad one would try to change you, but the right one would bring out the best in you.” Who am I to be giving out relationship advice when I haven’t even chased down my own mate, yet.
My thoughts exactly!
“I’m sure that when it happens to us, Chief Glen, we will not be found wanting. We will fight our corner and have a wonderful life.” I’m saying the words but I can only hope that I’m right!
“I’m not sure it’s a battle I want to fight.
With my luck, it wouldn’t end in a battle but become an all-out war!
If you’ll excuse me, Alpha Lyle, I have more pleasant things to attend to than worrying about a relationship that may never happen, like cleaning my bathroom or polishing my boots.
” Taking his empty plate to the counter, he leaves the dining hall.
I think I struck a nerve there. I’ve never known Chief Glen to sound so unenthusiastic or unmotivated about anything in all the time I’ve known him. I hope if he finds a mate, she gets him straightened out in double quick time.
Falan and his escort should be here shortly, so I think it’s time I prepared for their arrival.
Making my way back to my office, I steal a glance at the kitchen, and not surprisingly, I don’t see Flick or Blossom.
That in itself tells me all I need to know, though a conversation between the three of us may prove fruitful at a later date.
I’m intrigued! I’ve had a request from Falan, via my Border Guard that is accompanying them, to meet him in the office, and not formally at the packhouse entrance, as would be normal.
A knock on the door has me calling ‘enter’.
Falan promptly rushes in, dragging a female by the hand.
Pushing her ahead of him and into a chair in front of my desk, he checks the door is closed and states, “Alpha Lyle, allow me to present to you Fenya Stormhowl. YOUR MATE!” With that he leaves the office and pulls the door shut.
I do nothing for a moment as I try to get a grasp of this, but Hunter has no such misgivings. MATE! MATE! MATE! He chants and dances around in my head until I’m almost dizzy.
There are emotions rushing through me like tidal waves. I have no doubt that both Falan and Hunter are correct. This is indeed my mate. Rather than sensing similar feelings from her, however, I sense panic and fear.
“Fenya Stormhowl, I am Lyle Walker, Alpha of the Spirit Walker Pack. I am pleased to meet you, though a little stunned, I have to say.” I move around the desk and stand before her, but she stays seated and the fear I sensed is turning to anger.
“Alpha Lyle, I have been brought before you against my will. I told my Alpha I wasn’t ready for this and in truth, don’t want it.”
“I see,” is all I manage but I don’t see at all. “Are you not a member of the Wolfsong pack? Has Alpha Falan kidnapped you to bring you here?” Why he would do such a thing is beyond me.
“Yes, I am of the Wolfsong Pack. When he returned and we caught your scent, I panicked. I have had time to think since then and still have no wish to be a mate, mated with, or to become a Luna of a pack. Least of all, one of which I know nothing.”
“I see.” I still don’t see at all! “This was not what I expected when I finally met my fated mate. As I understand it, it was to be a joyous and happy occasion filled with hugs, kisses, and celebrations.” Before I get any further, I sense her beginning to change into her wolf, and when Hunter pushes forth I don’t stop him, thinking I’m about to be attacked.
Staying at the back of our mind, I watch to see what is going to happen next. Far from attacking us, the female seems positively taken with Hunter. He is strutting and preening as though he owns the world we live in, and the female is certainly not shy about letting him know she agrees with him!
I sense there is a conflict raging between the human and wolf sides of Fenya Stormhowl and can see the shimmer as she tries to become human again.
Hunter steps back and the she-wolf before us suddenly becomes her human form.
Oh…My…God! She is NAKED! Hunter recedes, and I am left standing there, staring at the most stunning form I think I have ever seen.
Gawping at her, I suddenly think to check that I am clothed and not standing, mouth gaping, stark naked, too.
Thankfully, Hunter has not been so brazen and I am fully clothed.
“ASTRA!! CLOTHES! IMMEDIATELY!” Fenya growls the words and I find her tone excites me almost as much as her nakedness. Almost.
Pulling my jacket off, I try to offer it to her, but I’m too late. She is clothed by the time I get it at arm's length toward her.
“It’s a bit late to try to be a gentleman now, Alpha Lyle. You’ve had plenty of time to have a study of the goods before you. That will not happen again, I assure you. My wolf may think such actions are funny, but I do not.”
She is furious and although I desperately want to laugh, I dare not. She looks like she would kill me without a second thought. I don’t doubt that I would have great difficulty preventing her. If her skills match her fitness, she would be a formidable opponent.
“Have you finished with your lewd thoughts, Alpha Lyle?” She spits the alpha out as though it were an insult.
“I was thinking that had you chosen to attack me, if you have warrior skills to match your physique, I would be in trouble.” Watching her reaction to my statement, I see her eyes flash.
“You have every right to be worried. I am the Head Warrior for Wolfsong Pack and train all our warriors to exacting standards. My skills are exceptional. I don’t doubt that had I chosen to attack you, you would be dead.
I may have died too, but I would have achieved my aim.
” Standing proud before me, I bristle at her arrogance.
“ALPHA FALAN!” I shout at the door, while summoning Chief Warrior Glen through a mind link. The door bursts open and I see panic on Falan’s face.
“Alpha Lyle. What has happened?” Falan looks from me to Fenya and back again.
“All in good time, Alpha Falan. I am waiting for my Chief Warrior to arrive.” As I speak, Glen rushes into the office.
“Chief Warrior Glen. Find me somewhere secluded that cannot be overlooked to use as a training ring. There are to be no spectators, near or far. The Head Warrior of Wolfsong has boasted that she can best me, and I intend to give her the chance to either take that boast back or prove it.”
Falan steps toward Fenya, and for a moment, I think he is going to strike her. “That is my mate, Alpha Falan. I strongly suggest that you think through your next actions.”
“I was not going to strike her, Alpha Lyle. That is not in my nature. I was going to ask her to think her own actions through, because she will not take back her boast. I know her well enough to know that she is stubborn enough to die before she will take it back.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to a fight to the death.
It is not my intention to kill her, just to test her brazen outburst.” Slipping my jacket back on, I nod to Glen and we leave the office and proceed to the forest. Ensuring that only my guards follow and those of Falan’s escort we walk briskly until Glen stops us.
“I suggest that only Alpha Falan and his Head Warrior accompany us further. The rest should spread out and stand guard.”
Falan and I issue the order to our respective guards and then follow Glen further into the trees. It doesn’t take long until we enter a good-sized clearing, and that has obviously been used for secluded fights previously.